Category Archives: SSDI

Budget bill bans public access for three years Yes, the budget bill was signed into law. No, there wasn’t any Christmas miracle. Yes, the language that eliminates public access to the Social Security Death Master File — also known as … Continue reading →

SSDI to be closed for three years They say it isn’t over until the Fat Lady sings. Well, the Fat Lady of the 113th Congress belted out the last bitter off-key note in the song of public access to the … Continue reading →

House adopts SSDI limit At 6:26 p.m. EST yesterday, the United States House of Representatives did the wrong thing. Oh, The Legal Genealogist will grant that the lower house of Congress may have acted for the right reasons — wanting … Continue reading →

SSDI access part of budget bill NOTE: The fight in the House is already over — they voted last night (Thursday, 12 December) and we lost (see today’s blog post, Friday, 13 December). Please turn your attention now to your … Continue reading →

A simple two-step plan Reader Bill Williams responded almost immediately to yesterday’s blog post about yet another bill being introduced to limit, and eventually end, public access to the Social Security Death Index (SSDI). “And what is the thing that … Continue reading →

He’s at it again Congressman Sam Johnson (R-Texas) seems to think that the Social Security Death Index is the worst thing that ever happened in the world of identity theft. Unfortunately for genealogists, Johnson isn’t just any member of Congress. … Continue reading →

Ordering applications from the SSA Reader Janet Buchanan is helping a friend, now in her 80s, with a major conundrum: wading through too many names for her paternal grandparents. The friend’s father had one sibling and “between the two of … Continue reading →

What a week on the records access front! It’s been a definite roller coater, and — on the federal front — the roller coaster is just starting to pick up steam. We’ve had good news, with the breakthrough on the … Continue reading →

Three bills to affect SSDI access Even with the constant crisis news out of Washington, D.C. — “the fiscal cliff is going to ruin the economy!” “the sequester is going to ruin the economy!” “Congressional gridlock is going to ruin … Continue reading →

There’s news on the Social Security Death Index front — some bad, some worse, and some that just might possibly end up being at least neutral if not actually good. Bad news The bad news is that the 113th Congress … Continue reading →